Narrative Theory and Photojournalism

This past week in class, we started going into the concept of narratives and narrative theory, which suggests that narrative, in all forms of media, share certain features. More specifically though, it showcases how different media/cultures tell stories in different ways and how different forms of media have certain qualities in their narratives that are expected and make them unique. Essentially, every media form has a narrative, a message and story that they wish to convey, even if we don't realize it. And we are going to be delving into how media can shape that narrative for their own purposes.

In addition, our teacher, Mrs. Horsley, gave us a refresher on the rules and laws of photojournalism. Though the lecture was more so for students participating in the magazine activity, she said that those of us doing the film opening should also pay attention, so I did. As she spoke, she described to us both the ethical and legal issues we should avoid. She stated it as follows: legal issues are things you cannot do, ethical issues are things that you should not do. She also went over how to use and credit photographs, and issues that we should avoid when using a photo ( invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, digital manipulation, and ethical dilemmas).